Process for the preparation of thiol esters



I halides.-

' CH;COSH+ CH,= OHOCOCH Patented July 8,1947

UNITED STATE s PATENT osrics PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THIOL ESTERS Ellsworth Knowlton Ellingboe,wilmington, Del.,

assignor to E.

Delaware L'du Pont de Nemours 8; Com- Wiimington, Del., a corporation of No Drawing Application June 20, 1944,

' Serial No. 541,291

, I i This invention relates to the preparation of carbothiolic esters.

This application is a continuation-impart of my application Ser. No. 476,625, filed February 20, 1943, now abandoned.

This invention has as an object the preparation of, esters. A further object is the preparation of mixed estersri. e., esters of a plurality of 4 Claims. (01.260-455) acids. A still furtherobject is the preparation of nilxed' sulfur-containing esters of organic and inorganic acids. Another object is the preparation of betamercaptoalkyl halides by the controlled hydrolysis of beta-(acylthio) alkyl Other objects will appear hereinafter.

These objects are accomplished by the followinginvention wherein a monomeric alpha-unsaturated aliphatic, including cycloaliphatic, alcohol ester of an organicor inorganic acid is reacted, preferably in the licluid phase, with an organic rcarbothiolicacid in thepresence of oxygen or a peroxide, 1. e., a catalyst having two directly linked oxygen atoms, to produce an ester of a beta- (acylthio) alkanol. The resulting esters in the case of thehalide-carbothiolate compounds may be hydrolyzed to the halide-thiols.

CH COSCH CH OCOCH representing the reaction of thiolacetic acid with vlnyl'acetate acetate. l

The reaction temperature is. not critical so long as it is below the decomposition temperature, and it is governed largely by practical considerations such as the. nature of the apparatus, the boiling points of the reactants, etc. Ternperatures of 50,to +200 C. are preferred; The process may be carried out at subatmospheric, ordinary or superatmospherie pressures, if desiredin the vapor phase but preferably in the liquid\phase. When no further heat is evolved on free exposure of the reaction mixture to air to give 2-acetoxyethyl thiol-v Almixture of 10.6 parts of thiolacetic acid with I or oxygen the reaction is essentially complete and the product may be isolated after a short confirmatory period. The presence of oxygen or a peroxide in catalytic amounts appears to be essentialto the success of the'reaction, as indicated byexperiment. I

The'apparatus in which the reactions are carried out can be of ordinarily available types, such as an autoclave or a vessel equipped with a reflux condenser. The vessel should also be equipped with .a stirrer, heat transfer facilities and means for introducing liquid or solid and gaseous reactants independently.

The reaction may be carried out by batch or continuous process and in the vapor or liquid phase, preferably the latter.

The more detailed practice of the invention is illustrated by the following examples, wherein parts given are by weight. There are of course many forms of the invention other than these specific embodiments.

Example 1 5.1 partsof vinyl thiolacetate is agitated in a vessel open to the air. Within a short time the mixture becomes quite warm, and heat is evolved over a period of several minutes.

k c When the spontaneous reaction ceases, with the mixture having free access to; fresh air, large white crystals of ethane-1,2-dithiol diacetate are formed as the mixture cools. The crude crystals, after pressing on a clay plate, are obtained in a yield of 9.8 parts by weight; M. F. 68-73 C.

Similar results are obtained, but more slowly and with no noticeable heat, when 1% of benzoyl peroxide is used as the catalyst and the mixture kept under an inert (nitrogen) atmosphere. No reaction occurs in the complete absence of air or benzoyl peroxide. I

Example II A mixture of 86 parts of vinyl acetate'and 76 parts of thiolacetic acid is stirred in a vessel provided with a reflux condenser. A slow current of air is passed through the reaction mixture. Almost immediately a vigorous evolution of heat takes place and the mixturewsoon reaches re- The process is continued. for an hour, during which time the evolutionof.

fluxing temperature.

heat decreases to nothing. The reaction mixture is finally distilled under reduced pressure to give a nearly quantitative yield of '2-acetoxyethyl thiolacetate boiling at -105 C./l0 mm., 95% of this material boiling at 97-98710 mm.

Example 111 A mixture of 66.5 parts of vinyl chloride and 76 parts of thiolacetic acid is placed in a pressure vessel, previously cooled in a carbon dioxideacetone bath. After flushing the space above the charge with air, the vessel is closed and the contents allowed to warm up to room temperature with frequent agitation. No spontaneous rise above room temperature is noted. After a short interval the mixture is again cooled, the vessel] opened, fresh air added and, after closing, the

reaction is continued by warming to room tem perature with frequent agitation as before. This process is again repeated, and finally the reaction mixture is placed in a still and distilled. A yield of 74.2 parts of 2-chloroethy1 thiolacetate boiling at l14.5/101 mm. is obtained.

The halogen acid esters of beta-(carboxythio) trated by the equation:

risomcmowon oooom It affords a convenient means of passing in two steps from a vinyl halide to the corresponding beta-mercaptoethyl halide. The halogen group is substantially unaffected during the hydrolytic step. The following example illustrates this hydrolytic process. I

' Example IV A mixture of 75 parts of 2-chloroethyl thiolacetate and 150 parts of anhydrous methanol containing 1.5 parts of dry hydrogen chloride is refluxed for one hour, then fractionated. The

fraction boiling at 114116 C. is essentially pure vbeta-mercaptoethyl chloride, which is a colorless liquid having a thiol content of about, 34.2%.

The yield is 45-50 parts or 86-96% of the theoretical. I While the examples illustrate the invention as applied to thiolacetic acid,'there may be employed any carbothiolic' acid which is stable under the conditions of thereaction,v including thiolacetic, dithioladipi'c, thiolpropionic, thiolbutyric, monothioladipic, thiolfuroic, thiolnicotinic, thiolphenecarbothiolic, thiolnaphthoic, thiolbenzoic, and thiolphthalic acids. The acid is preferably saturated and preferably hydrocarbon apart from the acid, 1. e., carbothiolic group.

Any monomeric alpha-unsaturated aliphatic alcohol ester of an organic or'inorganic acid, in which acid hydrogen or hydrogens are replaced by a monovalent aliphatic, including cycloaliphatic, radicalhaving a double bond between the carbon attached to the acid radical and the carbon once removed therefrom may be employed, including vinyl acetate, vinyl benzoate, vinyl chloride, divinyl adipate, vinyl thiolacetate, l-propenylacetate, l-cyclohexenyl acetate, 1,3- butadienyl acetate. Acyclic and particularly The reaction must be conducted in the presence of oxygen, air, or a peroxide (e. g., benzoyl per oxide, di thyl peroxide, acetyl peroxide, etc.) and must be conducted in a non-alkaline, i. (1.. neutral to acid cnvironmenti. e., in the absence of alkaline substances. These have been found to inhibit thereaction. When a solid catalyst V (peroxide) is employed. less than 5%. by weight of reactants, of catalyst is in general. suiiicient.

The reaction is best conducted in the liquid phase. i. e., at a temperature such that the reactants are liquid. The temperature must not exceed the decomposition point either of reactants or products. The reaction appears to be essentially quantitative when using equivalent amounts of the reactants, but no harm has been found in employing an excess of either of them.

The hydrolytic reaction by means of whichthe beta-(carboxythio) alkyl halides are converted to the corresponding beta-mercaptoalkyl halides may be carried out in the presence of anyalcohoi. Obviously-it is preferable to use a'cheap and readily available alcohol, andfor thisreason the lower alkanols, i'. e., alkan'olsof up ,to' seven carbon atoms, are preferred, in particular methyl,

ethyl and isopropyl alcohols. The catalystmay be any ester interchange acidic catalysts, i. e., those commonly usedin ester, interchange reactions, such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid,

phosphoric acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, etc. Any beta-(carboxythio) alkyl'halide may be used, but the chlorides and bromides, particularly the 'former, are more available and therefore preferred. ,Preferably a non-oxidizing acid of ionization constant of at The present invention' is of advantage in provinyl esters are preferred because of their greater availability, and of the esters of organic acids those. of saturated fatty acids are particularly preferred.

of types which are often difficult to obtain by any other means. The resulting thiol esters are useful as intermediates for further synthesis, be ing especially a source of the corresponding thiols and in certain cases of unsaturated thiol esters, e. g., vinyl thiolacetate by pyrolysis fror'n 2-acetoxyethyl thiolacetate, A particularly preferred advantageof this invention is that it affords a means of obtaining compounds having themercap'tan group on a carbon adjacent a halogenbearing carbon, 'e.'g., a chlorine-bearing carbon. These are valuable intermediates in the synthesis of sulfur-containing amino acids such as "cystine, homocystine, and methionine.

The above description and example are 'intended to be illustrative only. Any modification of or variation therefrom which conforms to the spirit of the invention is intended to be included within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is: i

1. Process for the preparation of thiol esters which comprises reacting thiolacetic acid in a neutral to acid liquid environment at a temperature from 50 C. to +200 C., with a vinyl ester of the class consisting of vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, and vinyl thiolacetate in the presence of a catalyst containing two directly linked oxygen atoms and selected from the class consisting of peroxides and molecular oxygen.

2. Process for the preparation of thiol esters which comprises reacting thiolacetic .acid in a neutral to acid liquid environment at a temperature from -50 C. to +200 C., with vinyl chloride in the presence of oxygen. 1

3. Process for the preparation of thioi esters which comprises reacting thiolacetic acid in a neutral to acid liquid environment at a temperature from -50 C. to +200 C., with vinyl acetate in the presence of oxygen.

4. Process for the preparation of thiol esters which comprises reacting thiolacetic acid in a neutral to acid liquid environment at a temperature from -50 C. to +200 C., with a vinyl ester of the class consisting of vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, and vinyl thiolacetate in the presence of oxygen.

ELLSWORTH KNOWLTON ELLINGBOE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,212,141 Alderman Aug. 20, 1940 2,212,895 Allen Aug. 27, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number 1 Country Date 521,944 Great Britain June 5, 1940 OTHER REFERENCES Sjoberg (1), Ber. Deut. Chem," vol. 74B, pp. 64-72 (1941).

Sjoberg (2), "Ber. Deut. Chem, vol. 7515, pp. 13-29 (1942).

Mayo, Chem. Reviews," v01. 2'7, pp. 387-393.

Beilstein, Handbuch der Organischen Chemie. 4th ed., vol. I, 2d supplement, page 347.

Chemical Abstracts, vol. 35, cols. 5092-5094, abstract of article by Sjoberg.

Chemical Abstracts, v01. 35, cols. 2113, 2114,

abstract of article by Sjoberg. 

